# tips on how to tell when my cigar is ready to smoke...



## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

I need a way to physically tell when a stogie is smoke ready.....I smoked 2 cigars this week that I thought were ready and they split open by the band and the taste went to crap....they started fine....and I didn't rush them.... But by half way it turned to sh!t.....
Humidor at 62-65...digital western... One stick in humI for 4 weeks....one a week.....both $$$ sticks.
I pinched the foot on both lightly for a slight crackle.....good.
Unwrapped the one cigar after it was unsmokeable...the wrapper was dry.....the filler was really damp IMHO......
I use 1 boveda 72 in humi with temp similar ....northern Idaho has been DRY...AND ARID.
One Oliva and one My father......bird nest liner........FM!!!!!


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

Idahosmoke said:


> Also....I am thinking when I get my sticks from mail order to leave them in a dry box for a week before humu storage.....they come in WAY moist IMHO....OH. I have had good luck dry boxing but then I forget to put more in dry box and reach for the humidor and ......well ......read above post...


There is no visual way to check to see when your cigar is ready. If you have a 72 Boveda and your hygro is reading 62-65, then something is off. When they split, did it split because it was dry or did it split because it expanded and that caused the split? What are they stored in? Where did you get your sticks from? My own general rule of them is to them rest 1 week for every 1% in RH adjustment they need from when you got them to where you want them. Ex. If you buy them from a B&M, most store at 70-71% and you want them at 65% (and assuming your humidor is a stable 65%) then it should rest at least 5-6 weeks, double that if you keep them in cellos. Please note: this is not the one all be all rule, just my rule and out of 3 years doing it, I haven't had one issue like yours except when I man handle my cigar too much digging around the humi, dropping it on the ground or smoking them in the summer months in Vegas on the golf course, which I don't do anymore :sad:

As for dry boxing, I don't do that after hearing too many stories about how it jacked with the cigars. IMHO, dry boxing was invented by impatient cigars smokers who took a page out of the books of people who fresh roll their cigarettes. My uncle used to roll his own cigarettes and he would then take the bunch he just made and put them in an old unhumidified humidor. Be patient with your sticks, let them naturally acclimate to the desired RH. Also if you can, try smoking one of your sticks indoors where it is not as dry and hot, see if that makes a difference, it could just very well be the weather.


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

Also....I am thinking when I get my sticks from mail order to leave them in a dry box for a week before humu storage.....they come in WAY moist IMHO....OH. I have had good luck dry boxing but then I forget to put more in dry box and reach for the humidor and ......well ......read above post...


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

elco69 said:


> There is no visual way to check to see when your cigar is ready. If you have a 72 Boveda and your hygro is reading 62-65, then something is off. When they split, did it split because it was dry or did it split because it expanded and that caused the split? What are they stored in?


They are swelling and then split.....I keep them in a Diamond crown humi....the 72 is keeping it at 62 because of the 15% outdoor humidity we have here....my idea anyway....with the lid closed I can barely pull a dollar bill out of the closed lid....


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## lostmedic (Apr 27, 2015)

How does it do with a light test?


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

Never thought of that......give me the specifics....


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

Idahosmoke said:


> They are swelling and then split.....I keep them in a Diamond crown humi....the 72 is keeping it at 62 because of the 15% outdoor humidity we have here....my idea anyway....with the lid closed I can barely pull a dollar bill out of the closed lid....


I have a Diamond Crown as well, just tried the bill test. I dragged the humidor across my desk and it has about 35 sticks in it. If it is swelling, typically they are over humidified, water will expand the cigar as it heats up. If indeed your hygro is accurate, you need to let you sticks rest longer.


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

Just another thought, I bought this humidor about 5 weeks ago and it was sitting on a shelf empty for god knows how long and I never did season it what should I do.......I got about 40 sticks in it now......check my post on humi I got .....can't post pic here with my phone....its posted on the other post...


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

Idahosmoke said:


> Just another thought, I bought this humidor about 5 weeks ago and it was sitting on a shelf empty for god knows how long and I never did season it what should I do.......I got about 40 sticks in it now......check my post on humi I got .....can't post pic here with my phone....its posted on the other post...


Take them out and place them in a tupperware with your Boveda pack. BTW, you should be running 3-4 packs for that size humidor. You can do 1 of a couple of things, you can get the Boveda Seasoning kit and follow the included instructions or you can use @SeanTheEvans directions:



SeanTheEvans said:


> 1) Dowse sponge in distilled water (DW), place on a saucer and in humidor.
> 2) After 6 hours check RH
> 3) After 24 hours check RH and if it's around 80% install beads
> 4) After 24h check RH if the reading is more than 70% remove the sponge
> ...


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Good thread here with excellent responses for all of us to follow. ..sometimes a cigar just behaves indifferently no matter how much we care for them. If anyone ever comes up with a device that can tell you when it's ready to smoke...you'll be a millionaire.


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## SeanTheEvans (Dec 13, 2013)

Idahosmoke said:


> Never thought of that......give me the specifics....


Put a flashlight inside (on), close the lid. Make the room dark and see if you see any light



Cigary said:


> If anyone ever comes up with a device that can tell you when it's ready to smoke...you'll be a millionaire.


I have these things I use to tell when my cigars are good to smoke. I roll the cigar between them, and can tell if it's too hard or soft, or if the wrapper is too dry. The problem is, I only have 9.75 fingers, so they'll have to fetch a pretty penny if I'm gonna start selling them for others to use :lol:


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

Depending on RG and how long a cigar has been stored at a high rh relates to how long it takes to acclimate .
I have seen cigars take 6 months to stabelieve at 60 rh from 70.
.....yes it was a test in a controlled environment


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## CraigT78 (Apr 14, 2015)

Have you tested your hydrometer? Place it in a zip-loc bag with a Boveda pack and wait 24 hours. Make sure it's accurate, and test it frequently.


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

So here's my scenario on what is going on. I bought a used humidor that I did not season, then I put in a load of cigars, I tried to keep them humidified with bovida pack, and all the moisture is being drawn from the outside of the cigars and boveda by a dry humidor. I've got dry outside of the cigars and damp insides and when I burn them they split and explode..... dry on outside damp on the inside. And a newbie will learn by experience and by the puff teachers......thanks teachers of cigars


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## HighNoon (Jun 17, 2015)

I think a lot of newbies have issues with getting the initial "homeostasis" of their humis (I know I did too). It is further confounded by adding in online over humidified sticks, as the newbie loads up the unit. Good news is (From my experience with my 60qt coolidor), if you have a good sized humi, once it is stable adding a box or two of over humidified sticks won't upset the balance too much if you have enough beads/cedar/cigars in there.

Time is a healer and destroyer. Monitor the Rh and don't let it swing too high or low while you wait for the homeostasis.

Great advice on this thread..



SeanTheEvans said:


> I have these things I use to tell when my cigars are good to smoke. I roll the cigar between them, and can tell if it's too hard or soft, or if the wrapper is too dry.


I do this too but sometimes I can't tell if completely if the core of the stick is still too humidified towards the tip (maybe in time). I also check the band, if it is too tight to slide a bit back and forth I wait.


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

Thanks a ton all you guys for the great help I'll get back to you in a day or two and let you know what goes on


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## DrBob (Mar 26, 2014)

Idahosmoke said:


> They are swelling and then split.....I keep them in a Diamond crown humi....the 72 is keeping it at 62 because of the 15% outdoor humidity we have here....my idea anyway....with the lid closed I can barely pull a dollar bill out of the closed lid....


smaller wooden humidors cannot keep up with very dry conditions, at least from my experience. I live in New Mexico and had very similar results, over humidifying just to keep up, and cigars on the bottom being dry and wet in the middle. I went to a small wineador, then a larger one, perfectly sealed and work great. Keeps spot on humidity and my cigars are resting and smoking perfectly. If you don't want a wineador, get some tupperware or a cooler for longer term storage and just drybox a few sticks in the wooden one, or stick it on the shelf like I did...


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## Idahosmoke (Jun 18, 2015)

Just a quick update, stayed in Las Vegas last night, went to Walmart this morning to get distilled water and a sponge and some Ziploc bags, put my 72 RH bovida packs in with my Western Digital and after 3 hours its reading spot on. I put damp sponge on a plastic baggie after I wiped the interior down with distilled water check tonight for the RH on that. Just open the lid to take a peek and that thing fits like a glove. Almost had to pry it open haha.....just got into salone,az......working on winter place......


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## SeanTheEvans (Dec 13, 2013)

Idahosmoke said:


> Just a quick update, stayed in Las Vegas last night, went to Walmart this morning to get distilled water and a sponge and some Ziploc bags, put my 72 RH bovida packs in with my Western Digital and after 3 hours its reading spot on. I put damp sponge on a plastic baggie after I wiped the interior down with distilled water check tonight for the RH on that. Just open the lid to take a peek and that thing fits like a glove. Almost had to pry it open haha.....just got into salone,az......working on winter place......


So you wiped down the interior of your humidor with the DW?

Congratulations, that tight seal is probably the wood swelling- if you're lucky, it won't warp too badly and you might have some type of seal on it...

why people directly wet their wood is well beyond my comprehension...:doh:


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

SeanTheEvans said:


> why people directly wet their wood is well beyond my comprehension...:doh:


What! You don't like getting your wood wet?! Ah, you are one of those who likes it dry, oh the friction! :smile:


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## droy1958 (Sep 3, 2014)

I run 62 to 65 rh and it has changed my smoking pleasure to the positive...


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